


Fake Husband

by jamespotterthefirst



Series: Fake Husband Series [1]
Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 10:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30104442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamespotterthefirst/pseuds/jamespotterthefirst
Summary: Moving tunblr works here.My MC is called Dr. Lilac Allende :)
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey & Main Character (Open Heart), Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart), Ethan Ramsey/Original Character(s), Ethan Ramsey/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Fake Husband Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2215185
Kudos: 5





	Fake Husband

**Author's Note:**

> Moving tunblr works here. 
> 
> My MC is called Dr. Lilac Allende :)

The appreciation dinner that was supposed to include the whole diagnostics team quickly dwindled down to only Ethan and Lilac. Baz had a date and only stayed for the first course, Naveen followed suit minutes after, claiming to be too old to stay up past nine thirty, and June hadn’t even replied to the invite. **  
**

Briefly, Ethan wondered if the old doctor had planned it that way. Especially considering the knowing smile he directed at Ethan before his departure. 

Lilac met his eye, a teasing smile of her own at the ready. 

“If you wanted to touch me that badly, you could’ve just asked,” she said in a low, tempting whisper that made his pulse quicken. 

In a moment of delayed reaction, Ethan forgot his foot had brushed against hers under the dinner table more times than he cared to admit. And of course she was going to call him out on it. 

“If I’d wanted to touch you as badly as you claim, we’d be elsewhere.”

“Where would that be?” she returned without a single moment’s hesitation. “Your bedroom or mine?”

God, she was good. 

Typically, Ethan would not allow their banter to get this explicit, but something was different that night. Or perhaps all it took to vanquish his conviction was her coquettish smile, the tantalizing glimmer of her bright eyes, and the almost indecent dress clinging to her. 

They were a long way away from innocent hand holding. 

“Ambitious of you to think we’d make it that far.”

She looked impressed for a split second. Before she could reply, however, her eyes fell on something over his shoulder. Her expression went from incredulity, to recognition, and finally to something on the cusp of panic in seconds. 

“We have to go,” she said when her eyes returned to him. 

Ethan glanced over his shoulder, noting nothing out of the ordinary in the crowded restaurant. Then again, the pretentiously dim lighting made it difficult to see properly. “Why?" 

Lilac didn’t respond immediately. She seemed to be considering whether to tell him or not. “There’s someone here I’d much rather avoid,” she allowed.

That explanation was too meek to warrant such a reaction. Ethan kept his face impassive. “Who?”

Defeated, she finally admitted, “My ex.” 

A beat. 

Whatever he had been expecting, it was not that. 

“He’s sitting by the exit at the bar. The one in the dark turquoise suit,” Lilac explained, absentminded. 

Ethan almost rolled his eyes derisively at the phrase “dark turquoise suit.” Only pompous, self-centered assholes with a lot to prove wore unconventional colors to dinner. 

Before he could help himself, Ethan looked over his shoulder to catch a glimpse. A young man around Lilac’s age casually sat at the bar, deep in conversation with a group of his peers, all wearing equally obnoxious suits. Even from a distance, he could see the strong jaw, straight nose, and gleaming smile that might have drawn her in once upon a time. It was somewhat disappointing that he was not hideous, like Ethan had hoped. 

“A doctor?” he asked, retroactively wondering why it mattered. 

“Lawyer,” she replied.

 _Even worse_ , he thought. 

“Please, Ethan,” she implored quietly. “I don’t want him to see me. Things…” she trailed off and he could see a flicker of pain in her expression. “It did not end well.”

Ethan tried to hide his curiosity to spare her any more embarrassment. He failed spectacularly because she noticed and added, “I dated him for two years while finishing my undergrad. We were really serious until… he cheated.”

His jaw clenched on instinct. “I see.” 

“With my best friend at the time,” she added in a small voice. 

“Jesus,” he said reflexively, aware the single-word reaction was not enough. 

Her gaze dropped to her plate, looking almost ashamed. The sight sent a surge of vindictive anger through him. Ethan wanted nothing more than to march across the restaurant, grab him the lapels of his ostentatious suit, and make him hurt worse than the pain she currently exhibited. 

“Fine,” he consented instead. “Let’s get out of here. He’s too busy talking to his lawyer friends. If we go now, he probably won’t see you.”

Lilac looked like she could kiss him. After being informed that Naveen had paid the bill, they rose from their seats in a rush and made a beeline toward the exit. 

“Stay close,” Ethan murmured in her ear as they walked, careful to use his body to cover her from his view. 

They were so close to the exit that he could see her visibly relax. 

“Thank goodness you’re so tall,” she teased, a few feet from the exit. Growing more confident, she quickened her step slightly. 

“Lilac—” he started, unable to keep up with her pace. But before he could say more, he was intercepted by someone who had been sitting at the bar. 

“Dr. Ramsey?” An older doctor who used to work at Edenbrook greeted him. 

Ethan halted, his eyes trained on her back as she continued walking, unaware he was no longer behind her. At the same time, Turquoise Suit looked over his shoulder as she passed, recognizing her at once. 

“Lilac?” he asked, getting to his feet. “Lilac Allende is that you?” 

She froze mid stride. 

Meanwhile, the older doctor ranted to Ethan about owning a private practice, blissfully unaware that Ethan neither listened nor cared. 

“How you’ve been?” he heard him ask her, pulling her in for a hug. Lilac, too stunned to react, stood limp in his embrace. It lasted far longer than was necessary, his hands sliding along her sides indulgently. Ethan had the sudden urge to punch him. 

“How’s Edenbrook?” Dr. Rosetti asked Ethan after his incessant chatter. “Heard Naveen’s the chief.”

“Fine,” Ethan replied absently, eyes trained on Lilac. She was saying something, finally having recovered from her shock. She was far too gracious to give that prick the time of day. 

Turquoise nodded attentively, flashing her a seemingly charming smile. The ambiance of the restaurant combined with Dr. Rosetti’s droning voice made it difficult for Ethan to hear them. He caught only snippets of what was said. 

“…a doctor now?” Turquoise was asking her. His hands were still on Lilac, a remnant of his embrace. “I’m really proud of you.”

Ethan’s hands clenched at his sides. 

Lilac took a small but polite step back, freeing herself from his grip. She replied something Ethan couldn’t hear. Even from afar, he could tell her ex was not listening, instead he covertly scanned the plunge of Lilac’s neckline. “You look great,” Ethan heard him say. “Time’s been good to you.”

That was the last straw. 

The _nerve_ of this fucking guy. 

Ears ringing, Ethan marched toward them, not even bothering with a goodbye to poor Dr. Rosetti. Maybe he was acting on the sudden spike of adrenaline coursing through his body, or maybe his judgement was shot the second Turquoise smugly uttered the words “…we should go out for coffee some time”, but Ethan had decided what to say in the seconds it took him to reach them. 

It was reckless, and Lilac might deny it instantly, but the urge to help her while simultaneously wiping the superior smirk off his face clouded his judgement. 

Turquoise looked up as he approached, furrowing his brow quizzically. Lilac turned to meet his eyes and the relief he saw there was further motivation for what he was about to do next. 

Without stopping to think or even breathe lest he lose his nerve, Ethan wrapped an arm around her waist and gently pulled her in to place a tender kiss on her temple.

“Ready to go, love?” Ethan murmured. 

Lilac paused briefly in surprise, looking up to study his face which he hoped conveyed his intentions. It must have because her lips quivered with the effort of fighting back a smile. She relaxed into his touch, sliding her hand up his jacket to rest on his chest.

“Yes, but only if you carry me out,” she replied, fingers toying with his tie. It was entirely too distracting. “I ate way too much bread.”

“You always want me to carry you,” Ethan returned, feeling his ears grow hot. “Is that the only reason you married me?”

Might as well go all out on this Oscar-worthy performance. Her eyes met his at the word "married,” her smile so radiant that something tugged at his chest. 

“Among other things,” she replied with a coy smile, raising herself on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

Heart hammering against his chest, Ethan marveled at how easy it was for them. It was worth it, however, because Turquoise gaped at them, his expression comically dumbstruck. 

Lilac made a show of remembering he was there. “Oh, right,“ she said with a small shake of her head. "Ethan, this is Alex Rhodes. We went to UCLA together.” 

Her ex’s eyes darted to Lilac quickly, as if expecting her to add more of their history to the introduction. 

“Alex, this is Doctor Ethan Ramsey,” she continued, gesturing towards Ethan. “My husband.”

Alex blinked repeatedly in astonishment. When he recovered, he looked at Ethan with renewed interest. “Ethan Ramsey?” he repeated. Looking at Lilac now, he added, “The author of that book you used to read so much?”

Lilac looked genuinely embarrassed at that. Her cheeks flushed in a way Ethan found too endearing. 

“Long time fan, Rookie?” he teased. 

"She would talk nonstop about you,” Alex continued, still looking utterly bewildered. “You’re the reason she worked so hard to go to med school." 

Ethan raised his eyebrows at her. She refused to meet his eye, blushing redder than he’d ever seen her. 

“I can’t believe you met your idol,” Alex said, almost to himself. 

“Married him, too,” Ethan added. 

“We should really get going, _babe_ ,” Lilac interjected, shooting Ethan a pointed glare. 

He almost laughed.

Their mission was undeniably accomplished because by the time Lilac said a hasty goodbye to her ex, he looked unabashedly envious and ready to eat his heart out. 

Once in Ethan’s car, Lilac let out a loud snort of laughter. “That was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she professed, eyes bright with delight.

Ethan briefly glanced at her as he drove, a small smile of his own at his lips. The light from the passing street lamps rendered her face lovelier still. With a small ache, he wished it hadn’t been pretend. 

Lilac noticed his suddenly serious expression, a question already furrowing her brow.

Before she could ask, he forced a smile and taunted, “What did you ever see in that guy?”

It worked. Lilac rolled her eyes. “Shut up,” she said with another laugh. “Thanks for the save, by the way. I owe you.”

“The stupid look on his face was payment enough.”

“Do you think we fooled him?”

Ethan said nothing, keeping his eyes trained on the road ahead. He was convinced their fib has been successful, at least on his part. Much to his embarrassment, there was no concealing the utterly _love struck_ way he felt when he looked at her in the restaurant, her hand resting on his chest as if it were second nature. There was no doubt it had been written all over his face for all of Boston to see.

Instead of incriminating himself, he said, “Lawyer boy looked angry, which means he bought it.” Ethan grimaced. “Again, you sure know how to pick ‘em, Rookie.”

Lilac laughed, the sound almost giddy as a result of the adrenaline. Out of the corner of his eye, Ethan could see the way her gaze fixed on him. “My taste in men has gotten much more refined throughout the years, I assure you.”


End file.
